In her first interview since
Whitney Houston **’s death,
daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown
said she’s “doing as good as I
possibly can” and recalled the
tender last moments she shared
with her superstar mother before
her sudden death last month.
“She’s always with me,” said the
19-year-old, Houston’s only child
and sole heir. “Her spirit is strong,
it’s a strong spirit. I feel her pass
through me all the time.”
Brown made the comments in a
Sunday interview with Oprah
Winfrey on Winfrey’s network,
OWN, that also featured Pat
Houston, the singer’s manager
and sister-in-law, and Gary
Houston, the brother of Whitney
Houston.
Remembering Whitney
**
SLIDESHOW: Fan & Artist
Tributes **
SLIDESHOW: Her Life and Career
**
• HOT 100 LOVES WHITNEY
• Whitney’s Back in Billboard
200 **
• Funeral Set for Saturday **
• U.K. Price Hike a ‘Mistake
[LINK] (.biz)
• ‘WAITING TO EXHALE’ SEQUEL A
GO
• HER LEGENDARY CHART CAREER
• WHITNEY’S LAST PERFORMANCE
• JENNIFER HUDSON PAYS
TRIBUTE
Brown credited her family and
God for helping her cope since
her mother’s death on Feb. 11 at
the age of 48.
“It comes in waves. One moment I
can be happy and laughing, but
then it comes over me. It’s my
mom,” she said.
Houston, who had struggled with
drugs and alcohol in the past but
according to family had been
apparently clean, was found in a
bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel
in Beverly Hills, Calif., on the eve of
the Grammys. She was to attend a
pre-Grammy party the night she
died.
Brown said the night before her
mother’s death, she asked
Houston to spend the night with
her.
“I slept in her arms all day, all
night long,” said Brown, whose
father is singer Bobby Brown.
Pat Houston said in the days
before Houston died, the singer
had not been abusing drugs,
despite reports that she had been
acting erratically. She said an
event she attended two days
before her death where Houston
looked disheveled was
particularly difficult because the
legendary performer got into a
verbal spat with a former
contestant on the “X Factor.” Pat
Houston would not name the
woman, but Stacy Francis has said
that she and Whitney Houston
had words that night.
According to Pat Houston, Francis
“made herself present
everywhere we were,” unnerving
Houston and leading to an
argument.
The day of her death had been
uneventful, according to her
manager. Houston had lunch in
her hotel and was preparing for
her mentor Clive Davis’ annual
party. Houston was scheduled to
tape an infomercial and other
interviews that day.
Pat Houston went out to run
errands for about a half hour and
when she came back, Whitney
Houston’s assistant went to check
on the singer.
“When I headed down the
hallway (to her room), I heard
screaming,” she said.
When Pat Houston arrived in the
room, she saw the singer’s
security guard frantically trying to
revive her ahead of the
paramedics. He told her: “I tried.”
Pat Houston said the singer had
“a peaceful look on her face.” The
cause of Houston’s death has not
yet been revealed.
The 90-minute television special
also touched on the singer’s ex-
husband, Bobby Brown, who had
a tumultuous marriage with
Houston. While some have
accused Brown of introducing
Houston to drugs, leading to the
once pristine singer’s downfall,
Pat Houston said that was untrue,
and both Pat and Gary Houston
had warm words for Brown.
“I loved Bobby Brown. Bobby was
a good guy,” said Gary Houston,
her older brother. “I don’t know
how good they were for each
other.”
They also denied that the Houston
family had asked Brown to leave
her funeral service or didn’t want
him to come; Brown showed up
briefly but left after a dispute over
seating.
“Bobby was supposed to be
there,” said Gary Houston.
Pat Houston said Bobby Brown
and his daughter have a
relationship, but indicated they
hadn’t spoken since at least
Houston’s funeral.
Bobbi Kristina Brown said she
planned to carry on her mother’s
legacy and become a singer, as
well as act and dance. She
expressed frustration over the
“negativity” surrounding her
mother’s image: “That’s not my
mother.”
Instead, she described her as her
confidant, a sister, her best friend
– “my everything.”
She still spends time in the house
she and her mother shared
together, and at times said it’s
hard to believe she’s not there.
“Sometimes, it’s so surreal. I still
walk into the house like, ‘Mom?'”
she said. “But I’ve accepted it.”